David Bielkheden says he will make Octagon return at UFC 96

In a recent blog entry on his official website, Swedish fighter David Bielkheden revealed that he will be making his UFC return on March 17 at UFC 96.

The lightweight competitor indicated that he has not yet signed a bout agreement but that he has made a verbal agreement to appear on the show. Bielkheden also indicated that he knows the identity of his opponent but that he wasn’t going to divulge a name until the matchup has been finalized.

Bielkheden, 13-6, made his UFC debut last March at UFC 82 against Diego Sanchez in a welterweight bout. Showing some signs of Octagon jitters, he submitted to punches thrown by Sanchez at 4:43 of round 1. He was able to redeem himself and even his UFC record to 1-1 following a unanimous decision victory over Jess Liaudin at UFC 89 this past October.

A veteran of Japanese-based promotions such as Shooto and PRIDE, Bielkheden has won three out of his last four fights and holds a notable victory over former UFC veteran Charles McCarthy in a bout that took place under the Absolute Fighting Championships banner in 2004.

know this isnt the right place to put this but im sure everyone wants to read this….. Ultimate Fighting Championship light-heavyweight contender Quinton “Rampage” Jackson pleaded guilty today to one felony and one misdemeanor count related to his July car chase from Costa Mesa to Newport Beach.

We’ll have more details coming on latimes. com/sports, but Jackson’s plea deal will allow him to avoid jail time on the felony charge and pursue a likely July title fight against current light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans.

Jackson is required to perform 200 hours of community service, pay restitution related to all six original counts he faced and continue visiting with mental health physicians, with bimonthly reports required to be filed to the Orange County district attorney.

Jackson faced a maximum three years in prison because of the incident, which his attorney, in a statement, said was “a brief episode of delirium which was reactive to situational and metabolic difficulties.
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The felony count still leaves Jackson subject to 180 days in jail, but a prosecutor said that if Jackson fulfilled his requirements before a Jan. 7, 2010, sentencing, the count would be dropped and jail time avoided.